What is gender fluid? by Jeffrey Marsh

You don’t need to fight for who you are. You don’t have to choose sides. You don’t have to be one thing or the other. You can be gender fluid or genderqueer…

[via YouTube]

androgyneity:

Coming Out As Nonbinary At School

Talking about my personal experience being out as nonbinary at school and also advice I have to people looking to do the same 

Disclosing Nonbinary Identity to Teachers - Stock Letter

androgyneity:

I usually send out a letter to all of my teachers as the beginning of each semester making them aware of my trans/nonbinary status and language preferences. I thought my letter this year was pretty good, and though the information in the letter is pretty specific to my circumstances, I thought it might work well as a stock letter, for others to use as a reference to write coming out letters to their teachers.

____________________________________________________________

Hi [Teacher’s Name],

I’m sending this out as an email to all of my teachers this semester, to make you aware of some information that is important to my education here at [School’s Name].

I am a transgender person - specifically, I am nonbinary. Basically what that means is I’m of a gender that is neither male nor female. Since the way in which people interact with and speak about each other is so dependant on gender, it is usually necessary for me to disclose this information at the beginning of each semester, in order to let people know how to refer to me.

My preferred and legally recognized name is [Name], and the pronouns I use are gender-neutral “they/them/their/themself”. While using gender-neutral pronouns is my strong preference, I understand that many people who may have never interacted with a nonbinary person before may have difficultly adjusting to using “they” in the singular form - in which, case “he” is preferable to “she”. I also prefer to be referred to using gender-neutral language (“person” instead of “boy or girl”, etc.)

I understand that, since nonbinary people are such a small portion of the population, this might be difficult for some to understand. If you are interested in accessing further resources or learning more about nonbinary and transgender people and accommodating them in the classroom, I have included some links to external resources.

I appreciate your anticipated support.

Sincerely,

[Name]

Creating Inclusive Classrooms For Transgender Students

Gender Spectrum Education Resources    

androgyneity:

Coming Out to Your Parents as Nonbinary

Hey guys! I hope you like this new video :) I’m really going to try to start making more NB experience/resource videos so let me know if there’s any topics you’d like me to talk about!

“Hey! I need a little advice if that’s okay. So I’m genderfluid and I’ve come out to my parents and most of my main friend group, but I’m not publicly out. I’d really like to be, as soon as possible- but my parents are saying I should wait until next school year, so I’m going to be publicly out next semester. However, I have a teacher that I’d really like to tell but everyone is saying that it would stress her out and I should wait till I tell the public. Do you have any ideas what I should do?”

Personally, I came out to my teachers when I was ready to come out to everyone, because I wanted everyone to be using my name and pronouns, and to have a clear idea of how I wanted to be seen, and why. I emailed my teachers before the semester started explaining my identity and preferred name & pronouns, and that went well because everyone had a clear idea of what proper action to take. Then I emailed my class of students (had a small class at the time) so they knew as well, and I could come into the new semester as a new person with everyone on board. 

If you want to confide in this teacher or ask them advice before you come out, I think that’s great, and that interaction could be very rewarding. But I think telling a teacher a “secret” and asking them to keep it indefinitely would probably be stressful. So I think it depends on why you want to talk to the teacher in the first place. :)

Hope this helps!
-Kai

Everything My Loved Ones Got RIGHT When I Came Out

thebodyisnotanapology:

“I didn’t have the perfect experience coming out as transgender and non-binary. Many friends and acquaintances weren’t able to change their perception of me and didn’t understand the new terms I was using to describe myself. As I meet new people and make new friends, I still struggle daily…

Anonymous:

hi um!! i haven't come out to my mother yet but i explained to her about trans/nb ppl and she warmed up yo it and said if i have any resources she would to learn about it so i was wondering if you had anything i could show her that would be helpful ?

nonbinaryresource:

hi there! firstly, this sounds like such a great first step, and this is a really wonderful way to approach coming out when you aren’t totally sure of the reaction you’re going to get. here are some links to resources for coming out to your family, and resources to share with your family:

• our /resources tag 
• our /family tag
• gender spectrum’s website (i especially recommend sharing the relevant resource pages with family members)
  
• our coming out resource masterpost  
• our general resource masterpost
• gqid’s coming out resource masterpost, which you can find here
  
• a guide for the parents of nonbinary kids from lifeoutsidethebinary

and here’s the great list that our mod jodie compiled, with help from links provided by lifeoutsidethebinary, as found in this original ask:

• How to Be Respectful of Trans* People in Just 7(ish) Semi-Easy Steps from Qpnaosc (pdf)
• “Be a Better Ally: How to Support Your Transgender Friends” from Gena Ricciardi
• “TransWhat?: A Guide to Allyship” from TransWhat?
• American Psychological Association: Answers to Your Questions About Transgender People, Gender Identity, And Gender Expression
• So Your Child is Non-binary: A Guide For Parents
• Everything You Need to Know About Nonbinary Identities (an article by Everyday Feminism)
• in-depth interview with a nonbinary person about their identity (article from Zenger’s Newsmagazine)
• Explaining Genderqueer to Those Who Are Not (an article by neutrois.me)
• “forcing kids to stick to gender roles can actually be harmful to their health” (article by Tara Culp-Ressler)
• Middle Sexes: Redefining He and She (an HBO documentary on gender variance available on Youtube)
• There’s No Such Thing as a “Sex Change” (video from TheGuardian.com about how to talk about transgender people)
• Think Your Child Might be Transgender? (an article by GenderSpectrum.org)
• What It Feels Like to be Transgender (article by Sophia Gubb)

if this doesn’t feature the specific kind of resource you’re looking for, please do get in touch!

-kate

"And I Do Mean All My Life": A Trans* Coming Out Letter

theartoftransliness:

For anyone who’s ever wanted to say it in a letter.

A sample coming out letter that a follower recommended to us. It’s a really excellent example of a coming out letter and might be helpful for those trying to write their own.